Officials at a Delaware mall said they were “blown away” when a wall at the shopping center turned out to be hiding something unexpected — a completely intact Burger King restaurant with vintage decor.
Tom Dahlke, general manager of the Concord Mall in Wilmington, said he was unaware of the eatery until a photo recently snapped by mall vendor Jonathon Pruitt went viral on Twitter.
The annual Independence Day parade in downtown Great Falls will be on Monday, July 4. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. and the route runs from 1st Avenue South to 8th Street, north to Central Avenue, and then heads west to Park Drive and disbands in Margaret Park (north of the Civic Center).
Live music will begin immediately after the parade with the “4th of July Hootenanny featuring Colt Ford” on Central Avenue between 4th Street and 6th Street.
The evening fireworks display will begin Monday evening at about 10:15 p.m.
North entrance road routes might be closed to Yellowstone National Park, but the adventure isn’t.
According to the proprietors of Silver Gate Lodging, reservations are coming in. Silver Gate is accessible from Chief Joseph Scenic Byway via Cody, WY, or Billings, MT. Silver Gate has opened their cabins for visitors wishing to take advantage of the mild temperatures and lack of crowds. Silver Gate is well known for its relaxed and laid-back atmosphere. Perfect for staycationers, backpackers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Come explore the Yellowstone ecosystem with us. – https://silvergatelodging.com/
Enjoy the rugged beauty of the Beartooth Wilderness.
Silver Gate Lodging consists of 29 cabins, five motel rooms, a historical inn, and a general store nestled in the beautiful and peaceful town of Silver Gate, Montana.
Silver Gate Lodging is located at: 109 US Hwy 212 W, 111 US-212, Cooke City, MT 59081
Phone: +1 (406) 838-2371
Website: https://silvergatelodging.com/
Don’t forget to check out the Silver Gate General Store online … Locally Made Montana Products … https://silvergate.shopsettings.com/
A road trip up the Yellowstone River wouldn’t be complete if you didn’t stop in Gardiner for a neat snack.
Due to the closure of the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park because of the road being washed away due to recent flooding, our choices for places to eat were somewhat limited. When we got there, we settled in on the Cowboy Lodge & Grill Restaurant.
If you’re in to the old west and it’s history, then this might very well be the place for you. Antique guns were affixed to the ceilings and real life genuine westerns played on the TV.
It was an abnormally slow day so we were able to seat ourselves.
When our server came around with the menus, both I and the wife ordered up regular cheeseburgers and our son thought to give the Bison burger a go.
I understand tourist towns, and usually wink at some of the prices, but a cup of French something coffee was $4 so I took a hard pass on that. I’m more of a “real” coffee drinker anyway, and besides, I had a couple of Flathead Valley Cherry flavored waters out in the truck that I wouldn’t have any trouble getting back to when I was done eating.
The food came round in about 15 minutes. Each burger had it’s own related little flag on top which I thought was a nice touch. I could imagine someone from Germany holding on to that little flag forever as a memento of their once in a lifetime trip to Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
After we got our food, I was somewhat disappointed at just how hard the burger was to chew .. I eventually ended up snagging up on a fork in order to cut the meat. It reminded me of those times when my wife adds too much bread to her meatloaf. The taste of the cheeseburger was over all underwhelming.
I asked the server if the burgers come in pre-cooked and then microwaved to fill the order. He said the burgers were cooked in the morning in advance of opening and are left to marinate. It was 5PM in the afternoon by the time I had ordered the patty which had been pretty much sitting since the early morning.
Had trouble with the burger, but that won’t prevent me from ever going back, as I’ll just order something different that might have to be made fresh.
Our son loved his Bison burger, said it was easy to chew and tasted great. I don’t think they prep the Bison burgers too early or even at all. I’m guessing that they are made fresh. I’ll have to give it a shot next we’re in.
I wasn’t at all surprised that the service was prompt and friendly because that’s pretty much how we do things here in Montana.
Heads up on the menu though. The online menu is different than the actual menu at the restaurant. The online menu sports some lower prices.
The tourist tax we were charged was 2.7% which is less than what the tourist tax in St. Regis is, and there is a 4.8% service charge on credit/debit cards, so cash is your friend in that case.
The Cowboy Lodge & Grill is located at 208 Stone St in Gardiner
Their phone is +1 406-848-9175
Their website: https://www.cowboyslodge.com/
If you would like to drive down to Gardiner in order to help support them with regard to the loss of tourism dollars this year, then that would be great. Be sure to call The Cowboy Lodge & Grill first to be sure it is still open. Many of the other restaurants and hotels were closed when we were there on account of the road being closed between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs.
We have the tendency to just hop in the truck on the spur of the moment and head out to see things.
In Montana it’s pretty easy to do, especially when we’re surrounded by so much great history.
On this particular road trip, we were driving up from Bozeman after a Twitter meet-up and we ended up in Helena to try to get Dustin a tour of the Capital Building before it closed. As one might have guessed, being since it was the weekend, we missed the visiting time and the Capital Building was closed.
No worries, because Helena has a few other pretty interesting places to visit.
Pennsylvanian, Louis Reeder built this quaint collection of tiny row house apartments that once housed miners and, later, single men of varied occupations. At one time some thirty-two one-room apartments spread along the narrow alley in various buildings. Less than half remain. During those days, as with other services, rent was paid in gold dust. Other landmarks included in this little area include the historic Morelli Bridge and the Stone House. – https://helenamt.com/2022/05/history-of-reeders-alley/
The narrow alleyway and closely spaced buildings nestled against the slope of Mount Helena today comprise the town’s most complete remaining block of the territorial period.
Laura and George Duchesnay bought the stone house in the early 1900s. Laura loved animals, and she soon filled the home with singing yellow canaries.
These birds ended up having another so-called covert and sneakier purpose. Rumor has it that, during Prohibition, Laura would hang some of her canary cages outside the house to let people know that a new shipment of illegal liquor had arrived.
When the alley was alive with the sound of canaries singing, the locals knew it was time to belly up to the bar.
According to local legend, the birds’ songs filled the stone house even years after Laura’s death. In fact, a few visitors reported hearing their ghostly chirps many years later when the building became a restaurant.
While there’s no proof that Laura was actually using her birds to sell her high-proof bootlegged liquor — nor is there proof of any ghost birds in the alley — evidence suggests that at least one of these things is true.
In 2008, when the stone house was being renovated, people discovered a pair of pits concealed beneath the floor. These secret compartments were just the right size for stashing illegal liquor.
As a young Montanan of 15 years, Dustin is extremely interested in his home, and Reeder’s Alley is one of the things that he hopes to show his kids in the future when I’m long gone. I snapped a few pictures that day compared to Dustin’s 10’s of dozens of pictures. I hope that Reeder’s Alley will still be around in the distant future, and not go away like Frontier Town and the Columbia Gardens did all of those many years ago.
Montana is a small town with long streets, so nearly everything we see and do here is classified as local. I don’t think that there are too many states in the Union where you can vacation local like you can in Montana.
In December 2000, Darrell and Kathy Gustin, then owners of Reeder’s Alley, donated the Reeder’s Alley properties to the Montana Heritage Commission.
The buildings in Reeder’s Alley are designated as an historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places with the National Park Service.
